When you think about – like, really think about it – real bellies are few and far between. When we do see a stomach, it’s usually a photograph of a celebrity who has dared to wear a tight dress in public or is spotted sitting down, when she (and it is by and large females who cop the flack) is labelled as pregnant or ‘loving her new curves’ by the media. Grim times right.

Alas, if you looked down right now, your stomach probably doesn’t resemble that of an ultramarathon runner with 8% body fat (unless you are, of course, an endurance athlete then go you!). It no doubt has folds and curves and rolls and looks like a squishy, regular belly.

And one Australian artist, Emma Bartik, thinks stomachs are so great, that she has turned them into actual works of art.

Related: "I got body language advice from an expert and it changed everything for me." Plus, why naked and covered body oil is the only way to sleep in 2020.

“Specifically I like the rolls and folds of the body like a belly because it can be viewed away from a gendered or sexual lens and appreciated more simply for the beauty in its undulating shapes,” the Voluptuary Ceramics founder explains.

While working full time as makeup artist, Bartik took up studying ceramics to help hone the sculpting skills she used in creating prosthetic pieces for shoots and from there, it flourished into a full blown love affair with clay creations.

“I initially made the pieces for an art exhibition which I won an emerging artist award for back in 2014 and when I started making ceramics again I thought I would focus on that rounded, curvaceous form and see how it goes. One thing led to another and I started doing it full-time.”

So why not boobs and bums? Well, by and large because her interest lies with more of an overarching body appreciation, as opposed to exclusively the female form.

“I’m more interested in the relationships we have with our bodies more so than making them directly observational or directly female. I think a belly is a bit more universal, it's gender free.”

Crafted by hand in her home studio in Sydney, each piece is a self-portrait of the artist’s own stomach.

“The belly that you see is mine. That’s what I look like when I’m sitting down. Everyone looks like that, I’m not ashamed.”

“I think the human body is beautiful, a moving live sculpture that is completely unique to each individual.”

With bellies crafted into cups, mugs and vases, her pieces make for a pretty good gift for your body positive buddy or simply as a nice self-love gift to self (they can be snapped up from her website here). Here's to seeing more tums in 2020.